Wooster Brush fitness option has giddy-up and go result

WOOSTER -- Since 2007, The Wooster Brush Company has initiated wellness programs, and its latest offering not only spurred workers onto better health, but it also brought them together.

More than 130 workers participated in the "Giddy Up & Go Horse Race to Fitness," which ran Feb. 3-May 9. The workers joined teams of four, and they logged how many minutes they exercised each day.

Human resources manager Mike Palmer said it had to be dedicated exercise minutes, not shoveling the driveway or sidewalk or mowing the lawn. The goal was to get workers moving beyond what fell into their normal routines. For the minutes to count, each exercise session had to be at least 15 minutes.

"It was great to get people together," said Lisa McMillen, who is a member of the Healthy Ways Wellness Committee. The theme was her idea, believing it tied in nicely with the Kentucky Derby.

Nearly 90 of the participants had participated in other programs, and more than 40 were first-timers.

"We're always happy if we capture one more person," said Carole Simcox, a registered nurse who works for the MedPro Group, but is the on-site nurse at Wooster Brush. "We're in it for the long haul. The message is to make (a) change for the rest of your life."

The wellness committee set a goal of 30,000 minutes, but workers logged more than 620,000 -- more than 10,000 hours, Palmer said.

"It was a friendly competition, and it was motivating," Chad Mullins said. He served as captain of the winning team. While Mullins exercised regularly, he did not want to let his team members down and pushed himself and encouraged teammates.

"I think the accountability is good," Simcox said. "It helped me."

Some of the participants became involved because it was a competition.

"I've never been a person who works out, but I am very competitive," Sheree Brownson said. "This challenge pushed me to establish a regular fitness routine. I stuck with it because I didn't want to let my teammates down. With the challenge over, I'm finding that I am continuing my workouts."

Companies have instituted wellness programs, hired nurses and have offered health fairs as a way to improve the health of their workers with a goal of saving money on health insurance premiums and seeing better productivity.

Palmer said in some of the literature he has been reading, about 70 percent of health care costs are avoidable and many cancers are avoidable, too.

It is tough to determine a true return on investment with wellness programs because there are so many variables and one major health insurance claim can skew numbers, but the company's leaders, including President Bill Faggert, have been very supportive, Palmer said. "We think it has worked," he added.

"People started doing more because nobody wanted to be left behind," Mullins said.

"The people seem better, happier and move a lot," McMillen said.

"We had a couple not doing anything before, and now they do something every morning together," Simcox said. "I'm pleased with the positive feedback and that people are feeling better."

The company provides "Lunch and Learns" to help raise awareness about healthy living and habits, Palmer said. While the opportunity is there, "They have to make the decision to change. We can't do that for them."

Reporter Bobby Warren can be reached at 330-287-1639 or bwarren@the-daily-record.com. He is @BobbyWarrenTDR on Twitter.